Method of and means for heating balls



A. a. E. HULTGREN. METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR HEATING BALLS. v

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 4, I9 I9.

P119 1161 June 1, 1920.

2 SHETSSHEET 1.

v INVENTOR 1 WI'TNESS.:- v

A. G. E. HULTGREN;

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR HEATING BALLS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 4, 1919.

1 ,342, 1 7 1 Patented June 1, 1920.

By Ailowzeys,

9 k a W W c UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE.

AXEL GUSTAF EMANUEL HULTGREN, OF GOTTENBORG, SWEDEN, AS SIGNOR' TO AKTIEBOLAGET SVENSKA KULLAGERFABRIIEN, OF GOTTENBORG, SWEDEN,

v A. CORPORATION OF SWEDEN.

ETHOD or AN MEANS, FOR HEATING BALLS.

To all whom it may concern: I A Beit lmown that I, AXEL G s'rAr EMANQ UEL 'HULTGREN, a subject' of the Kin of Sweden, residing at Gottenborg, in the ingis a specification.

dom of Sweden, have'invented new and use-:

ful Improvements inMethods of and Means for Heating Balls, of

This invention relates to a method of and means for heating balls, especially metal time in a rational manner the heat supplied.

The invention is based on practical e'xperiments of feeding balls through 'a furnace theballs in said furnace being effected either.

in an uninterrupted row, the movement of by the gravity or by a pressure influencing theballs at the inlet end of the furnace or by both of said forces. The conditions to be-fulfille'd, in order that-such a feeding shall be realized have proved to be as follows: The "i balls are to be arranged so as to touch ne "another on all sides. and to form straight the balls male longitudinal as: Well as in.

rows in three directions forming angles of 609-with one another; furthermore one of said three directions should beparallel to '-"or' form right angles with the feed direc-.

tion, and the mutual'contact of the balls in each row has to. be undisturbed. To this purpose it will, obviously, be necessary. that acertain pressure be maintained between the transverse; direction of the row. In the experiments made a sloping bottom of a furnace was used as runway for the balls, and the pressure between the balls in the longitudinal direction of the runway was effected by placing at the fore'end thereof .a transof a wall which the balls had to p'assbefore leaving the'furverse obstacle the form nace. Theneces'sary lateral pressure was effected by providing the runway with lateral edges serving as guides, the..distance between said lateral edges, being adjusted ac cording to, the diameter of the balls. The. same result could, however, have been at-" tained by constructing the runway. with angular or curved cross-section, the balls then Speeificationwf Letters Patent.

which the following Patented June-1, 19 20.

Application filed October 4, 1919. Serial No. 328,512.

generatrix parallel to anyflof'the three main directions of the balls in the row mentioned above. In. the beginning the experiments were performed with the furnace and the balls in 'a cold state, and in'this case no diflicul ties were met with in maintaining the nec- 65 men heating the furnace and the balls, it -was, however, evident'that the frictional re essary contact between the ballsin the row.

' efiecting by their own weight the necessary lateral pressure. As a general condition it was ascertained that the runway shouldhavethe formv of a general cylinder-having the lations between the hot balls as well as between them and the'runway varied to such an extent that it was" impossible to. deter-- mine the inclination of the runway most suitable to the feed at a moderate. feed pressure; Onaccount thereof thefeed'pressure' was sometimes too great, causing some balls to, be pressed out ofthe row,the connection between the balls" thus being disturbed and further feeding impossible. The object desired viz. automatic feed as well as effective and uniform heating ofa great number of balls simultaneously could not, consequently,

be attained in this manner.- g j" The lnconvemence'abovestated isavoided,

according .to this invention, by dividing the balls in. the. row into several'fconsecutive' groups separated by'iframes or; the like prop agating the feed pressure independently of the balls of each separate group, In order i to assure an effective and uniform heating of the balls the bottom of the furnace should preferably be so inclined that an accurate rolling motion of the balls is obtained, this effect being facilitated by the fact that, owing to the division of; the ,balls'int'oseveral independent groups, the pressureand.

the friction between the separate balls will be smaller than in the uninterrupted row. i A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which v i Figure 1 is in part a vertical section and in part a side view of a-furnaoe for-hardenv.ing of'balls. Fig. 2 is a plan view partially insection'of the furnace jand'Fig. 3 is "across section of the body of the furnace. 7

Referring to the drawings, the furnace consists of an elongated channel 1 of brick I work provided at the outlet end 2 with gas said end. The channel 1 has a burners 3 for heating the furnace to the necessary temperature increasin toward fieely supported bottom. 4, the inclination of which is equal, or approximately equal to the angle of rolling friction during the present conditions, the balls 5 to be heated being caused to .roll on the bottom. The balls "of the frame-work 9 inoppositedirection is fill, practically taken, the whole bottom and are divided according to' the invention into several groups independent of one another and separated by frames 6 movable along' the bottom. The feed of the frames 6 toniotor-M attached to the frame 8,. a. worm gear 15 and a chain gear 16. The movement effected by a weight 17 connected by means upon leaving the furnace, are stopped by V of a cord 18 or the "like guided by a roller .19 with the fore part of the frame-work 9. Attached to the bottom 4 of'the furnace at The opening 22 is normally closed by a'n -automatically working door 23. The frames 6,

the upwardly bent ends of the rails 20 and 21,-then removed for instance by hand and,

vpreferabl while hot, replaced on the bot tom of -t e furnace at the inlet end, then refilled with balls and fed anew into the furnace. In. close connection with the o'utletv end 2 is disposed a channed 2,4 closed on all sides and extending below the surface of the hardening bath 25 so as to form. .in a well-known manner a liquid seal pre-* I .venting cold air from entering the outlet end of the furnace.- Asthe frames 6 reach the rails 20 and 21, the balls 5 heated to the necessary temperature fall down between and at. the sides of saidrails and are guided by the channel 24 to the hardening bath 25 in which they. are cooled and hardened. The

portion 26 of the bottom 4 situated, at the outlet end 2 is horizontal or approximately horizontal, and consequently, when the fore edge of a frame 6 extends'outside said portion 26, noflfree rolling'of the balls in the feed direction can take By this" it place. 1s attained, that the bal s of each group cannot pass simultaneo'usly but successively,

- that edge of thebottom, thus causing all the balls to attain the same degree of heat.

. The feed of the frames 6 together with -ing their forward movement.

its outlet endare two guide-rails 20 and 21 V la-Means for heating balls, comprising a extending out of they furnace through an. opening 22 for guiding theframes 6, when ejected by gravityfrom the furnace.

'. the same and the balls through the furnace through the furnace.

the balls 5 which takes place with a velocity adjusted to the necessary degree of heat can be effected instead of by the mechanism shown, for instance by the frames 6 being interconnected so as to form an endless chain moving continuously through the furnace. The filling of the balls into the frames may be, effected in any manner, for instance by hand 'or automatically from any suitable magazine. I f

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and'in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is .1. The method of heating balls, consisting in rolling the balls arranged in a series of successive groups, spaced one from the other, throu h a heating medium.

2. he method of heating balls, consisting in placing the balls on the bottom of a properly heated furnace channel, dividing the balls transversely of the channel into a plurality of, groups by means of separating devices, and forwarding the balls along the said channel by the application of adriving 3. The method of heating balls as set forth in claim 2 which consists in causing the balls to roll along the bottom of thechannel durfurnacechannel adapted to be heated to the desired temperature for containing balls and a plurality of separating devices placed in said channel for dividing the balls into 0011- secutive transversegroups, and means active upon the said separating devices for moving channeh a I 5. Means for heating balls, comprising a furnace channel having a bottomfor supporting the 1 balls and means for heating 1 same, a plurality of frames placed in a con- 7 secutive row and onsaidbottomfor dividingthe' balls transversely into groups, and

means active upon the frames forfmoving I the same and the balls along said bottom.

6. An apparatus as set 'forthin claim 5, comprising a mechanical operating device. adapted to engage the aftermostframe of the series and force the frames and 7. Means for heating balls, comprising a l furnace channel and means for heating the same, said channel havinga bottom adapted .to receiveaplurality of balls, a series of frames each adapted t0' il10l0Se upon all four sides a series of balls,and.dividing the mass ofballs transversely into groups, the

move the same through'the furnace channel.

force applied to said separating devices in- Y dependently of the balls.

. frames throughoutthe series being in en- 'gagement one with the other, and mechan sm adapted. to engage the frames and nel having-a bottom for receiving a plurality of ballsya plurality of framesplaced in a consecutive row onthe said bottom for dividing the balls into groups, means for inoving the frames and balls along-said bottom and through the channel, thebottom of the furnace; being; provided with a discharge opening, and means located adjacent said discharge opening for guiding the frames out of the furnace vand permitting the balls I, to pass through the discharge opening.

nel to roll along said bottom, and means adjacent the outlet of the furnace for retarding the rolling motion of'the balls at said end. a 11. Means for heating balls,

upon which the balls are adapted to roll, the

inclination of said bottom being equal orapproximately equal to the angle of rolling friction during the heated condition .of the balls, and means for dividing the balls into transverse groups and isolating the balls-in comprising a furnace channel 'havlng an inclined bottom each group from the accumulated pressure ofthe mass of'balls. I

12. The method of heating balls, consisting in placing the balls on the bottom of a properly heated furnace channel, dividing the balls into a plurality of groups by means of separating devices, and forwarding the balls along said channel by the application of a driving force applied to said separating devices independently of the balls, the balls of each group being arranged to form straight rows in three directions forming angles of sixtydegrees with one another and one of said three directions being parallel to or forming right angles with the feeddirection.

13. The method of heating balls-as set 1 forth in claiin 12, which consists in causing the balls to touch one another on all sides and roll along the bottom of the channel durin their forward movement.

14511834115 for heating balls comprising.

elements for supporting the balls, a plurality of separating devices for dividing the balls into groups and means active upon said separating devices for moving the same and the balls through the heating means.

15. Means for heating balls comprising elements for supporting the balls, and a plurality of separating devices for dividing the balls into groups.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name.

AXEL GUSTAF EMANUEL HULTGYREN. 

